BATIM: Nothing Comes For Free
by Spinaxxx1
Summary: A short story about what life is like for Bendy, Boris, and Alice at Joey Drew Studios. This story shows that much more is expected of the ink creatures than any of the other employees. Thankfully, Henry is there to protect them. My version of Sammy is a bit different from some of the other fan fictions. In mine, he worships the demon instead of the cutesy cartoon character.


BATIM: Nothing Comes For Free

"No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong, Alice!" Susie snapped. The ink angel stopped in her tracks and looked to the female human. She had been trying to perfect the song and dance routine that Susie Campbell had written for the new cartoon that was to be filmed the very next day. But no matter how hard she tried, her efforts just wouldn't please the human. Alice's black hair plastered to her head and hung around her shoulders in a defeated fashion. Her normally glowing halo dimmed to a mere shimmer when Susie yelled at her for the twentieth time in the same hour.

Alice let out a sigh of anguish. For she knew that Susie would not give up until she had done the routine just how she wanted.

"From the top again!" The lady commanded and leaned against the wall of the animation studio. Ms. Campbell had been given a large enough room for which she could mentor the ink angel in acting skills, particularly in dancing and singing.

The petite ink girl raced back to the corner of the room and began the routine again. She stepped forward rhythmically and began the song once more.

Here it comes again, Alice thought. The very part she always messed up. It was a difficult twirl and leap that Susie wanted her to perform. Nonetheless, Alice Angel tried her best to please. She had almost made it through the twirl when her high heels bumped against one another. The girl went to take a step forward to keep her feet from tangling. But it was no use. The pointed bottom of her shoe got caught in a crack in the floorboard and she pitched forward. Alice fell right on her face with a screech of fear. But that fear was not from falling. It was from how the human was going to react to this latest mess up. The ink angel cautiously lifted up her head. Ms. Campbell was coming over. Did she finally feel guilty for making her do so many rounds of the dance? That was not likely.

Susie knelt down and helped the ink creature up. Alice knew that she didn't do that to be nice. That just meant she had other things to complain about.

"Oh, Alice! Look what you did to your bow!" The human pouted. Alice looked down to find her white bow knocked askew. It was very noticeable since her dress was a dark black just like her shoes and hair. Susie adjusted the garment and then noticed another flaw on the girl. "You smudged your makeup, too!" Ms. Campbell had put some pink blush on the angel's cheeks in an attempt to give them some color. Otherwise, her skin was as white as paper. The human roughly rubbed her fingers on the ink girl's slightly chubby cheeks.

"Sorry, Susie. It won't happen again." Alice replied, not making eye contact. She discreetly tried to pull her hair away from the small white horns that protruded from her head. Unfortunately, the lady took notice right away.

"I do wish you would keep those covered, Alice." The human's greedy fingers proceeded to cover the undesirables over with the hair again.

"But they're part of who I am. You can't change that, Susie." Alice softly argued. She knew that raising her voice at the woman was not necessarily a good thing.

"Perhaps not." Said Ms. Campbell. "But they're still not very angel-like. Anyway, let's get back to practice, shall we?"

"Susie, could you possibly give me a demonstration of exactly what you want me to do?" The ink angel probed. She had a feeling that the woman was asking something impossible of her.

"Sure, you need to do it like this." Susie proceeded to perform the routine. She did just like Alice had done right up to the point where the difficult stunt came in. The human stopped halfway through the twirl and stared at the cartoon character.

"Well?" Alice probed but not surprised in the least.

"Yes, well, you know what I mean." The lady said shortly.

"You can't really do it, can you?" The ink girl asked. Susie huffed and turned red. It was clear that she was insulted that she couldn't do it either. And that it pained her to admit such a truth.

"Maybe not." She said with puffed up cheeks.

"But if you can't do it, then how do you expect me to?"

"It's simple, Alice. You're an angel. Angels are supposed to be perfect and flawless." Susie explained.

"But that's not the truth!" Alice interjected. "I make mistakes just like you! Why can't you see that? I'll never be what you envision a perfect angel to be."

The woman shied away, pretending to be sad. Like the angel had hurt her feelings. But it was just her way of manipulating the poor ink girl into feeling bad and getting her to apologize.

"Oh, come on, Susie." Alice said sympathetically and reached out for Ms. Campbell with her oversized gloved hand. "We're friends. We shouldn't be judging one another on what we can and can't do. Henry always taught me to be kind and forgiving. So I'll be patient with you as long as you agree to be patient with me."

Susie turned back around with her fake teary eyes.

"Thank you, Alice! You're always so understanding of me!" She beamed and hugged the ink girl. "Let's take things nice and slow, my beautiful angel." Alice's halo started to glow brighter as a smile came across her face. The light seemed to illuminate the short and stubby horns that protruded from the dark hair. Susie tried her best to overlook those growths to the best of her ability. The lady wrapped an arm around the angel's shoulders and held her close. "We need each other, you and I. Sometimes I feel that we're more than best friends. Like we're part of the same person but in two different bodies. Inseparable. You feel this too, don't you, Alice?"

This kind of talk made the ink creature uncomfortable. Her smile drooped as she hesitated to answer her mentor. The truth was, Susie envied Alice so much for her beauty. They had spent so much time together that Ms. Campbell had convinced herself that she was really Alice, the true voice and inspiration behind the angel. Susie wanted nothing more than to be beautiful and treated like Alice was by the rest of the staff in the animation studio. Her boss, Mr. Joey Drew, seemed to encourage this fantasy that she was truly Alice Angel. He even mistakenly called her Alice a few times, but didn't bother to correct himself or his employee. As long as the employees were able to manage their workload, nothing else seemed to matter much to Mr. Drew. The success of his company was his top priority. Anything else was much lower on his totem of responsibilities.

Just when Alice was about to be pressured to give an answer, the door to their practice room opened. A young girl pressed the creaky door open until its handle bumped against the wall.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Campbell, but Mr. Drew wants to see you." She squeaked out, clearly not comfortable in Susie's presence either.

"Thank you, miss. Tell Joey I'll be there in a moment." The woman answered her. Alice watched as the young girl gave a quick nod and moved herself away as quick as possible. Susie then turned her attention back to the ink angel.

"Go take a break, Alice. We'll pick back up later."

The petite girl gave a sigh of relief as Ms. Campbell released the hold on her shoulders and went to leave the room. Her voice didn't have any hint of anger or annoyance at giving the angel a break. This was most likely because she knew that Mr. Drew would say some words of encouragement to her. Compliment on what a good job she was doing in mentoring Alice.

As soon as the door closed behind Susie, Alice wasted no time in rushing out of the room as well. The ink girl was desperate to get away from the place that caused her negative thoughts. She was usually very calm and collected, hardly ever showing signs that people were getting under her skin. But there were times, like now, when the stress got to her and she couldn't hold in her feelings any longer.

Alice raced to her favorite window that overlooked a small parking lot and the busy streets of New York. White gloves plastered against the glass as she stared out, longing to be free from the animation studio that seemed more like a prison nowadays. A small thud noise accompanied the collision of her forehead on the upper left pane. She wasn't the only one that wanted freedom from the studio. Her ink siblings also longed to see the outside world. But they were not allowed out there. Joey Drew didn't want them to be influenced by the real world and feared that they would not want to come back if they ventured out there. He would not hear of any talk of wanting to leave the studio. Leaving could very well expose the truth of the unnatural births of the ink creatures and result in Mr. Drew losing his precious ink machine to the hungry, greedy world.

Alice sunk down to the floor, curling her legs up to her chest and began to sob inky black tears. She realized that being born from the ink machine didn't give her or her siblings the most knowledgeable brains, but she was not stupid to the fact that most of the humans were using them to gain benefits for themselves. When would this stop? When would they start being treated as equals? The only one that truly cared about them was….

"Are you okay, Alice?" Came the warm voice of Henry. He was their true creator. Not Joey, who claimed ownership of anything and everything that he could. Henry had brought his creations to life with love. Mr. Drew believed that they were alive merely because of the ink machine. Sure, it helped to mold the characters, but it's certainly not what gave them their personalities or hearts. That was the result of Henry's dedication to his work and the true love that only a father could give.

The ink angel looked up to see her fatherly figure looking very concerned for her welfare. She immediately tried to rub away her tears and be happy for the man that she so dearly loved. Unfortunately, her gloves only succeeded in smudging the black streaks across her face.

"I'm fine." Said Alice tersely.

"You sure don't look it." Said the male human. "Tell me what's going on." He proceeded to sit next to his ink daughter.

"It's Susie." The angel said with a sigh. "She's getting so much worse lately. All she wants from me is perfection. Perfect dancing, singing, acting…. I just can't do it." Her eyes shot down to the floor as her body tensed up as she thought of how Susie kept pressuring her to do things just right. "She's jealous. I know she is. But I don't understand why. What is it that I have that she doesn't?"

"I think it's because you are ten times the person that she'll ever be. And it drives her crazy that it just comes naturally to you." Henry described. "She can only dream of being like you."

"But what's so special about me? I can't do anything she wants me to. I always mess it up!" A couple inky tears went down her face again. "Maybe I should just shave my horns down and become a real person like Susie wants…"

"No!" The man scolded and scooped the girl's hands into his. Alice looked surprised at this sudden gesture of kindness. "Don't ever change who you are, Alice! Bendy, Boris, and I love you just the way you are. You're already perfect to us. And that's all that matters. Who cares what Susie or anyone else thinks! And if you don't believe me, just ask Bendy or Boris. They'll tell you the same thing."

"Thanks, Henry." Said Alice, wiping away a tear. "That makes me feel a little better. But that doesn't solve my problem with Susie. I said that we were friends – and we used to be – but she's just changed so much….for the worst. It's not even fun to practice with her anymore."

"Perhaps I should try talking to her about it." Henry suggested.

"That won't work." The ink angel hung her head in defeat. "The only person she listens to is Mr. Drew."

"Then it's settled!" The man beamed, startling his girl. "I'll talk to Joey first and tell him that Susie needs to tone down the criticizing of you."  
"Do you really think that'll work?" Alice was skeptical of this plan.

"There's only one way to find out."

The ink angel gave a small smile before it ultimately disappeared again. Henry tried and tried to turn his ink daughter's frown upside down. But this time it was proving difficult.

Just then, a pair of footsteps came their way. Both of the people recognized the heavy plodding of the shoes could only belong to one person: Boris the wolf. The black and white cartoon wolf was walking slowly to balance the plentiful cans of bacon soup he had just swiped from the pantry. Boris's room had enough bacon soup in there to last a normal person nearly a year. But for the wolf, that stock would only last two months at best. Alice often had to scold her ink brother for eating too much food in one sitting. For he was constantly munching on any snack he could get his paws on. His behavior often started bad habits in his younger brother Bendy. The two of them liked to played pranks in which to snatch other peoples' lunch. It usually ended okay if Bendy was the one swiping the food as he would give it back after he got a good laugh. Boris, on the other hand, would just eat it and forget about giving it back. This often got them in trouble with the studio's employees.

As soon as the anthropomorphic wolf came into view, Alice and Henry saw the large stack piled up in his arms. Boris was so greedy with his food that he even carried one in his white muzzle.

"Boris!" Henry scolded. The ink wolf's ears shot straight into the air as he realized he had been caught. His guilty muzzle drooped down in their direction as he turned to face the person that was reprimanding him. When he turned, the man noticed yet another can resting in the back pocket of his white overalls. "That's too much food for one wolf!"

Boris attempted to give a justification for his actions, but his response was too muffled by the can for the human to understand any of it.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

The wolf was surprised at who was scolding him. Usually it was his sister. But she wasn't even looking at him anymore. Her sullen expression fell to the floor again. Boris cocked his head to the side, confused as to why Alice had not said a word to him. He had never seen her so sad. She always did such a good job of being strong for both herself and her family. The ink wolf all but forgot what he was doing and dropped all the cans to the floor. They clanged loudly and rolled in every which direction. He then came down to his sister's level. Boris moved himself on his hands and knees up to the ink girl. His gentle eyes stared at Alice, who had not looked back. The wolf realized he still had a can in his mouth. He promptly took it out and offered it to the angel.

"Want some soup? It will help a stomach ache." His friendly voice sounded.

"No thanks, Boris." She said and hugged her legs even tighter to her chest. "I'm not hungry."

"She's having some issues with her mentor." Henry told his wolf child. "Not meeting Susie's ridiculous expectations."

"Gee, I'm sorry, Alice. I know how that feels." Boris admitted. "Sammy's got a new song that I can't seem to perfect either. The notes are just too difficult to perform correctly. I don't know what he was thinking when he wrote it." A man named Sammy Lawrence was Boris's boss. He had taught the wolf to play clarinet and allowed him to be in the orchestra. However, most people in the studio would call that man weird – or even crazy – due to his unusual habits. For example, there were times when he told all of his employees to clear out from the recording studio and then he would mysteriously go turn on the projector that pointed at the back wall of their stage and then run back into the recording room like a madman and lock everyone out. No one knew what he did in there when that happened. They all knew better than to ask the madman that was Sammy. And that was only one of his odd habits.

The wolf's ears perked up as he thought of a grand idea to cheer up his sister.

"But there's always one song that I could never mess up. Not even in my sleep." He then stood up and offered a gloved hand to the petite girl. "Come with me, Alice. I want to show you something."

The angel slowly looked up to find her brother staring down at her. She slowly met his hand and let him help her up. He ushered her in the direction of the elevator. Boris then helped up Henry as well.

"Good job, buddy." The man winked as he went past. For Henry knew the very song he was referring to. "She's going to love it!" The wolf put a humble smile on his face. He had only taken a couple steps after his family when he wheeled back around and reached down for a few cans of bacon soup. Boris had only managed to pick up three when he received a gruff "Ahem!" from behind him. His white muzzle looked up at his father. Henry raised a single eyebrow, watching what his ink wolf would do next. Boris snatched up a fourth can without even looking where his gloved paw went. He then resumed his path to the elevator with his family.

The three of them settled themselves into the elevator when yet another pair of footsteps came running (not walking) in their direction. Around the corner came the little ink demon himself. If his family's voices had not attracted him to their location, the sound of the bacon soup cans crashing to the floor certainly would have done the trick. His little boots pounded quickly against the studio's floor in an effort to reach the lift before it descended.

"Wait for me! I'm coming too!" Bendy cried. His round head bore his usual big and toothy smile. Being the youngest of the ink creatures, the little demon was not even half the height of his siblings. The little black boots moved as fast as they could go. He dodged and weaved through the soup cans littered on the floor. Bendy thought he had gotten past them all and didn't see the last one as his boot came down on it. The can went flying backwards as the ink child pitched forward and ultimately slid across the floor.

Henry, Boris, and Alice watched as the boy came belly-whopping right into the elevator. The human moved his foot so that it would block his boy from colliding with the old lift's cage wall. Bendy immediately popped himself up and fixed his white bow that had been knocked askew. Gloved fists balled up and were placed on his hips. He wore a big smile across his face as he proudly lifted up his chin to the ceiling. With eyes closed, he pretended like his slip-up was a grand stunt.

"I meant to do that!" The child boasted. "It's a new thing I've been practicing for next week's cartoon!"

"You plan to slide across the deck of the pirate ship?" Henry chuckled and teased his youngest ink child.

"Sure! It'll knock the Butcher Gang right overboard it will!" Bendy still gloated. The man laughed a bit more before turning to Boris.

"Is everyone ready?" He asked. The wolf's white muzzle gave a nod. A gloved finger then went for the correct button.

"Where are we going, Boris?" The ink demon asked his big brother.

"To the music department."

"Oh." Said Bendy, his smile immediately vanishing.

"Don't worry, little B. Sammy isn't there right now. He's out on break." Boris explained. Had the ink demon known that was where they were going, he would have thought twice about stepping into the elevator. Bendy didn't like going down there unless to work on a dance routine that was required by one of Joey's cartoons. The truth was that the little ink demon was afraid of the music director, Sammy Lawrence. It was clear that the man did not care for his job that much, especially when he had to work with the ink child. For Bendy annoyed him to no end. The ink demon's incessant pranks and tap dancing around really got to Mr. Lawrence. And he got an awful look in his eye when Bendy got on his nerves. The worst part of it was that the ink demon often got that look when he had not done a thing at all. That the human had judged him before they even got to know one another.

Bendy's little heart pounded in fear as they descended to the music department. He stuck closely to his father's leg. Alice watched her younger brother nearly begin to shake at the thought of being caught in there by Sammy. She knew how much Bendy was afraid of that man, but there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it. And neither could Boris. Even if they tried to talk to the music director, that was all it was. They couldn't convince him otherwise that it was mean how he singled out Bendy and tried to punish him every chance he got. Neither Boris nor Alice were treated like that to the extreme. Just the ink demon.

The elevator creaked and jerked to a stop. Boris was the first to step out once the gated doors opened before them. Alice followed behind, and then Henry. Poor Bendy hesitated to leave the lift. His round head peered out to make sure no one was around.

"Come along, Bendy. It's okay." Henry urged. The ink demon scampered over to his father's leg, nearly hugging it as they entered the studio. All four of them looked up to their right to find the projector room overlooking the stage where all the instruments were. Each of them were placed on or next to their respective chair. Music sheets were left on the stands where the members had left them. Some were on break like Sammy and others had a day off. It was rare to find the music room completely empty like this. Boris knew that such an opportunity had to be taken advantage of. He put down his soup cans on his music sheet stand after sweeping the paper booklet on the floor. For that would not be needed for what they were here for. Alice watched as her brother brought a chair over for her and placed it upon the spot where the conductor would stand.

"Sit here, Alice. And make yourself comfortable." The ink wolf then walked over to his chair and picked up his clarinet. Henry found himself a chair that had a violin lying in its case next to it. Bendy, however, stayed standing. That way he could make a quick exit if need be. The ink child greatly feared of being caught in there without permission. His round head nervously looked around, expecting to see Sammy come through the doorway at any moment. Inky splotches of sweat started to form between his two blunt horns. His little gloved fingers wove around one another, physically showing his worry. Henry saw this and felt very bad for his boy. How horrible it must be to feel that scared every time Mr. Lawrence was mentioned, he thought. Time and time again the man had told the music director not to physically lay a hand on his boy in punishment. But he just never cared. It was clear that if Henry was not around, that madman would certainly make poor Bendy pay for all the times he had annoyed him.

The room sat in total silence for a couple seconds as Boris fumbled his clarinet up to his muzzle. Upon arranging his fingers in the correct position, he started to play a familiar tune. The frown left Alice's face as she realized that her brother was trying to remind her that not everything that happens in Joey Drew Studios is bad. For the song he played was the very melody that she sang in her debut cartoon titled "Sent From Above". The ink angel began to sing along. It was just a natural response for her to sing beautifully to her own tunes. Alice started to get lost in the moment, all but forgetting the hardship she had just had with Susie. Her eyes closed as she drifted into a state of euphoria.

Henry smiled brightly at her. For she was truly happy in this moment. Her halo started to glow a vibrant white. It was as if waves of happiness flooded over the studio when her garment shimmered in the dimly lit room. Everyone around her seemed to become overwhelmed with a positive sensation as she sang to her heart's content. Even Bendy started to forget his fear. He began to mouth the words and reenact the scene in which she sang the song, replicating her movements exactly how they were in the cartoon. His father had a hard time not laughing at the little ink demon's antics. Henry couldn't help but chuckle and snort a bit. This caught Alice's attention. She opened her eyes to see what was so funny but did not stop singing. The angel nearly laughed herself when she saw her little brother passionately carrying out her role as if it were his own. It warmed her heart to know that he had memorized her parts as well as his own. That meant he really cared about what she was doing. There were times it seemed that Bendy did not pay attention, but Alice realized that this was clearly not the case.

As the song came to a close, the angel gave a sigh of content. Warm feelings resonated throughout the room. Everyone smiled in her direction. Alice was very grateful for their effort to cheer her up. And it had worked. No longer did she feel drowned by negative feelings about what her mentor had said.

"Thanks, Boris. That was very kind of you." Alice praised the wolf, who gave a humble nod. "Thanks to all of you." Her gaze swept to her father and little brother. Bendy gave a dramatic bow in her direction.

"Anything for you, my lady!" He said. Henry and the angel laughed at the boy's theatrical personality.

Boris put down his clarinet and offered up the food that was still staring him in the face. The way he saw it, there were four cans and four of them. He knew there was one for everybody if they desired. However, he had a feeling that his father would decline the liquid sustenance. That meant two for him!

"How about some bacon soup now, Alice?" The wolf questioned.

"Sure. All this singing has really stirred up an appetite." A can was gently passed from one gloved hand to the other. The angel took care in peeling off the lid and prepared to take a sip.

"Toss one over, buddy!" Bendy shouted as he hopped around waving his hands in the air. "I'm open!" Boris didn't hesitate to throw a bacon soup can his way. The young ink demon jumped and clutched the object to his chest as it came right for him. Upon planting his little boots back on the ground, the boy threw his arms in the air like he had just scored a goal in a competitive sport.

"Touchdown!" Henry bellowed in encouragement.  
"Touchdown? Nah! That was more of a slam dunk!" Bendy tried his best to recall the different scoring methods of the various sports he had heard about from the studio's employees.

"Slam dunk is for basketball, Bendy. Touchdown is for football." Henry explained.

"Oh…. I guess it was more of a touchdown then. Heh!" The ink demon got a bit embarrassed for mixing up his sports. He then started to gnaw on the can's top, using his teeth as a personal can opener. None of the ink creatures had ever played any sports before, so it was a bit difficult for them to remember something that they couldn't practice in the walls of the animation studio. Access to TV was also pretty limited in this environment as well. Joey had said that it was only a distraction that would keep them from doing their work.

"What about you, Henry? Want one?" Boris probed, just waiting for the resounding no.

"No thanks, buddy. You know I don't really like that stuff." The man waved it away.

"Suit yourself!" Said the ink wolf, smacking his lips in anticipation. His greedy fingers popped open both of the soups at once. Boris poured them down his gullet at the same time. This was a mere snack for the wolf, not a meal. Bendy made audible slurps as he began to consume his share. Alice, on the other hand, took her time. She slowly and politely took dainty sips of the thick liquid, even placing it down on a music stand for a break. Henry watched his ink children consuming their food for a good couple of minutes before realizing that they should be making their way out of there. The musicians' break would surely be up soon.

"Well, I guess we should be getting you out of here and back where you all need to be before people start missing you." The man said as he stood up.

"Yes, you should." Came a voice from the music room's doorway. Everyone knew that it was Sammy without even seeing the man. There was no mistaking that agitated tone. Boris's ears shot straight up in alarm. Alice quickly stood up, ready to get out of the music director's way. The ink angel quietly shuffled her way out of the conductor's seat and instinctively went to her father. Bendy didn't hesitate to hide behind Henry either.

In came Mr. Lawrence. A bunch of music sheets were piled in his hand. He shot a cold glance over to the intruders as he stopped before the stage. His gaze then went to the papers in his hand. Sammy shuffled through them impatiently, waiting for the people to get out so he could do whatever weird and creepy thing he desired. The ink wolf motioned to his family to move out. That he would handle his boss, hopefully without much consequence.

"It's my fault, Sammy. I let them in here." Boris confessed. "We were just having a little break of our own."

"And what did I say about having guests in here without my permission?" The man snapped back. "You're lucky that I don't take your clarinet away for the rest of the afternoon. And it's Mr. Lawrence to you!"

The ink wolf whined a bit as he hung his muzzle in shame. Thin black ears drooped around his cheeks. Now he'd done it. Boris may have done something nice for his sister, but now he would have to pay for it from his boss. One could never do anything for free at the studio. Especially not if you're one of the ink creatures. It always seemed that much more was expected from them. The wolf awaited what his punishment was going to be.

"Boris didn't do anything." Came Henry's voice. "It was my idea to come in here." Boris quickly looked to his father as he lied for him, surprised that the human would do so.

"But Henry-!" The ink wolf tried to interject. But the man saw to it that the music director should do nothing of the sort.

"Boris is not to be punished. Not for helping his family with something they asked him for."

Sammy averted his gaze to the other man. The wolf could tell his boss did not believe Henry. But Mr. Lawrence knew it was best to hold his tongue in front of the number two person in charge of the studio.

"Very well." He grunted. "Just please close the door behind you." Alice shuddered as his piercing eyes laid on her. "Susie is looking for you. I suggest you get back as soon as you can. Didn't seem in the best mood." The angel sighed as all of the light in her halo drained on the spot. All the happiness that had filled her heart faded at once. Her eyes drooped closed as her chin pointed to the floor. Henry hesitated to leave his wolf child alone with this man. Sammy behaved himself while the artist was around. But that may not necessarily remain so if he left the scene. Boris saw this and silently urged them once more with a gesture of his muzzle.

"Come on, guys. Let's get you back." The man gently ushered the other two ink creatures toward the door. He took a glance over his shoulder to make sure Mr. Lawrence was going to react accordingly. Sammy, however, wasn't even paying attention to anyone. His focus was still on his music sheets that he was thumbing through. Henry watched as he set them down upon the stand and began to walk toward the recording booth that was a little way off to the stage's right. A single sheet of paper fluttered down from the stack. It swayed back and forth like an autumn leaf as it glided to the floor.

"Oh! You dropped one. I'll get it for you." Henry stepped up to retrieve the paper. He always tried his best to be on Sammy's good side. That way there was nothing Mr. Lawrence could be mad at him for. The music director came stomping back to the pedestal when he realized someone unauthorized was about to touch his property. But Henry had already picked it up and read the title. A confused look came over his face. Never had he heard of this title in any existing Bendy cartoons. Nor had he caught wind of it for a future skit either. Could it be that Joey had told him to compose this song far in advance of its corresponding cartoon? In fact, the notes themselves looked rather complicated even to someone that was not adept in music composition.

"The Lighter Side of Hell…?" Henry read aloud with a questioning tone. "What cartoon is this song for?"

"That's none of your business!" Sammy snapped and snatched the paper back. "Forget you ever saw that."

But the man was only more curious about what this song meant. He remembered that Boris had mentioned a particularly difficult song to master. His gaze went to the wolf.

"Is this the song you mentioned, Boris?"

Poor Boris only looked worried for he and his father's sake. His head and ears drooped down in an attempt to hide behind his stand.

"What?" Said an exasperated Sammy. He wheeled around to face the cowering wolf. "What did you tell him, Boris?" He demanded.

"Boris only told me that your new song was a bit difficult to play. Didn't say anything else. No spoilers. My buddy knows not to give away information like that. Isn't that right, Boris?" Henry chuckled in the ink wolf's direction, trying to lighten the mood. The ink creature only remained spooked at where this conversation was going. A dangerous look came to Sammy's eyes. All of Henry's ink children had learned to fear that glare. To run away as fast as they could when it came upon him. Mr. Lawrence tossed this glance at the cartoonist.

"I didn't ask you!" He growled and gave a shove at Henry's shoulder, whom narrowly missed it by backing away. Unknown to him, Bendy had been hovering right near his leg and squealed when his father bumped him quite suddenly.

"Oh, Jesus! I'm sorry, Bendy!" Henry apologized to the little demon. The round-headed creature stumbled out into the room, trying to get his bearings from the quick bump that had winded him. The man looked between his boy and the music director. They stared at one another with quite opposite emotions. Sammy's was pure hate and Bendy's was pure horror. The poor ink demon looked like he was on the verge of tears. His whole body shivered in fear. Tension rose within the room. Boris and Alice held their breath at what was going to happen next. For the music director's stare said he wanted to hurt something – and that something was Bendy.

"Tch! Just get out of here!" Huffed Mr. Lawrence as he reluctantly held himself back from committing violence against the child. "I have songs to write." The man turned back to his music stand. He looked up and down it for something. "My ink! Where did my ink go?" His cold gaze whipped back to Bendy. "You took it, didn't you? Come here, you little-!" Sammy pounded toward the child. Henry acted fast and picked up his boy. The ink demon clutched onto his father's shirt and buried his face into Henry's chest. For he was too afraid to even look at the irate man. His little inky body heaved as he tried his best to hold in sobs of fear.

"Whoa! Whoa! Let's not jump to conclusions here!" The cartoonist protected his creation. He turned so that Bendy was not within reach of Mr. Lawrence. "Instead of accusing him, why not ask? Bendy will tell you the truth."

"Hmph!" Sammy snorted. "Well, if you're so trusting of your boy, ask him yourself!"

Henry looked a bit put off by the music director's attitude. But he asked the ink creature anyway.

"Bendy, did you take Sammy's ink?" He asked in a gentle voice.

"No, father. I didn't take anything." The still trembling demon answered.

"See?" Mr. Lawrence roared. Poor Bendy cringed at the harsh voice and only clutched onto his man even tighter, horribly wrinkling the dress shirt. "That's always his answer! That he didn't do nothing!"

"Bendy may be a practical joker, but he isn't a liar." Henry explained, still being very calm despite the other man's attempts to escalate the situation. The fact that the cartoonist could keep his cool so easily only made Sammy madder. "Look, if it really means that much to you, I'll go get some ink from the art department for you."

"No! I don't want just any ink! The ink I use is special! I can't get it just anywhere!"

"So where do you get it?" Henry asked. A look of horror came over Sammy. His mouth moved faster than his thoughts and now he had nearly boxed himself in a corner. It was a secret of his that he got his ink directly from the ink machine's pipes. The machine was supposed to be off limits for everyone except Henry and Joey. Mr. Lawrence certainly couldn't let word get out that he had been smuggling that ink for his own purposes. The music director was aware that there was something special about the ink used in the machine since it actually brought cartoons to life. Sammy had been experimenting with it on his own body and had become addicted to it. That's why he was getting so desperate that his supply was gone and for the fact that he almost exposed his secret.

The man spun around as if to try and hide his look of fear.

"Just get out of here! I have work to do." His voice wavered like he was truly worried about something. "That includes you, Boris!" He snapped without even looking at the wolf. Boris, however, was relieved that he didn't have to endure any punishment from his boss at this moment. The ink wolf hurried after his family that was preparing to make their exit. Henry didn't argue further and helped his children escape the eccentric music director. Bendy ventured a peak above his father's shoulder to see what Sammy was doing now. The ink demon watched as that cold glare was shot back at him again. But that was not what shocked him. Thick streams of ink were coming out of the man's eyes and nose. Hands tried desperately to wipe it all away so that the intruders would not see the result of his experimentations. The black substance smeared across his face, turning his cheeks black. A wicked smile stretched as far as humanly possible. It almost looked like Bendy's smile when he was extremely happy. Only it looked creepy on the human that desired violence against the child. The ink seeped into his mouth and started to turn the teeth black too.

Bendy forced his face into the man's chest yet again to be spared the horrible image of the mad music director. They all exited the room silently and made their way to the elevator. None of them said a word. Henry merely let his gaze sweep over each one of his ink children. Boris's ears drooped as he uncomfortably rubbed his arms with gloved hands. The man could only imagine that the wolf feared what would happen when he ultimately had to go back for clarinet practice and recordings. Alice looked quite similar. Her halo hung low over her head and hair clung dryly over shoulders. She stared at the floor wondering what Susie was going to say when she returned from such a long break. And Bendy still clutched his father tightly, not looking up or moving at all.

The elevator jerked to a halt and the cage door opened. They slowly stepped out one by one starting with Boris. Henry exited last. The angel and wolf cast a sorrowful glance at the man. All of that progress to make them happy was gone. Like it never happened.

"It's okay, guys." Said Henry. "I promise I won't let anyone unfairly punish you for being gone during this time." The man crouched down as he talked and tried to get Bendy to let go. But the little ink demon wouldn't budge. For he clung to his father like a leech. "In fact, you should never be punished for being yourselves. I'm going to see that you all get treated like real people….because you are. I think they sometimes forget that you three are actually living, breathing creatures like us. But that's no excuse for anyone to be so harsh. From this point forth – Bendy, will you please let go? There's no one here that's going to hurt you. And Sammy won't dare hurt you. Not while I'm around."

The ink child finally let go and stepped back, giving him the same sorrowful look the other two were. They stood in silence for a moment. And then Henry sighed, realizing they all wanted a physical form of reassurance.

"Come here." He motioned. Three pairs of inky arms wrapped around the man, holding onto the little hope they had left. Four bodies huddled against one another for moral support. The ink creatures knew that they could only trust the very people that were in that group hug. For they were not lucky enough to be able to escape the studio's dark and inky grip like the humans that worked there. Not even for a second. Henry knew this and it only made him feel even more guilty that his children were treated this way.

"Bendy, Boris, Alice, you are my children. And I will do anything to protect you from harm. I will always be there for you…."


End file.
